Communications Specialist

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How to Apply

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

Summary

Department Summary

Michigan Housing is an actively engaged unit within Student Life Auxiliary Services within the Division of Student Life. M Housing serves approximately 11,500 students; 9,100 undergraduate and 2,400 graduate and professional students and their families. Although first-year students are not required to live on campus; historically 96-98% of all new first-year students choose to live on. Currently, the M Housing portfolio consists of 19 residential facilities that include traditional residence halls, apartments, and other living options located in communities on north and central campuses in Ann Arbor. In partnership with Michigan Dining, there are 9 dining halls and 9 retail operations embedded within the residence halls that serve approximately 4 million meals per year. In Fall 2024, M Housing will partner with other units and departments within Student Life to support the residential experience for approximately 20 U-M students on the Marygrove campus, located in Detroit. In Fall 2026, 5 new residence halls housing 2,300 undergraduate students and a new 822-seat dining facility will open to continue M Housing's strong tradition of providing affordable housing options and services for U-M students. In addition to supporting the academic mission of the University, M Housing creates and sustains diverse learning-centered residential communities that ultimately enhance the residential experience and serve as a guide for their work in support of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

Job Summary

The Communications Specialist is responsible for managing the overall public presence of Michigan Housing in all digital, print, and communications. It serves as the point person for media inquiries. This position works with departmental leadership to create and maintain the department's image, leads presentations to prospective students and families, maintains the Housing website, supports various program needs, and responds to critical incidents.  

This position reports to the Associate Director for Communication, Assessment, and Support, with a dotted line to the Director of Michigan Housing.
 

Responsibilities*

60%   Writing & Communications

  1. Shape vision and guiding principles for all departmental communication.  In consultation with M Housing leadership, identify and deploy terminology across M Housing communication channels (e.g., DEI language, gender-inclusive language)
  2. With direction from the Director of Housing and Associate Directors of Housing, serve as M Housing spokesperson or develop talking points for others to use when interfacing with external media
  3. Coordinate media strategy and crisis communications in conjunction with the Student Life Strategic Communications and Marketing and the university's public affairs teams
  4. Develop talking points for M Housing leadership for media interviews and engagement with other audiences
  5. Review, edit, and approve Housing communications for all departments
  6. Manage M Housing's social media accounts, coordinating with the Student Life's central communications team and institutional U-M social media team as needed. Monitor social channels for questions and concerns
  7. Coordinate with the Student Life marketing and communications community, sharing information and amplifying messaging from other units
  8. Compile and edit department newsletter for all professional and student staff
  9. Ensure M Housing follows university policies and guidelines around university branding.
  10. In collaboration with the M Housing Leadership team, proactively identify issues that may require training or preparation of university partners prior to the event causing the issue (e.g., insufficient housing for returning students)
  11. Create and disseminate timely, accurate information to staff in charge of main phone and email lines to ensure consistent, uniform responses to common questions
  12. Draft and respond to questions from students, parents, and other stakeholders around emerging issues, including topics of campus, local, state, or national significance.
  13. Coordinate with staff in charge of main phone and email lines to ensure staff have the correct information to uniformly respond to basic questions

20% Digital and Print Media Management

  1. Responsible for housing.umich.edu website, including creating, editing, assessing, and implementing content changes. Coordinate functionality updates with Student Life Technology Solutions and Communications, Marketing, and Design.
  2. Manage digital signage in residential communities; troubleshoot issues, provide training, assess usage, and coordinate with SLTS or ITS as needed to solve technical problems
  3. Manage M Housing Knowledgebase linked to housing.umich.edu including directly reviewing the link to identify gaps, edit materials, and assess the structure of articles in response to client's needs
  4. Review information on non-Housing hosted websites and propose changes when necessary (e.g., M Parents website, veteran affairs, school/college information pertaining to housing)
  5. Create a sustainable plan for periodic review of all website and knowledge base articles
  6. Obtain data and create an Annual Report for M Housing
  7. Create shorter documents/images that tell the M Housing story

10% Presentations & Training

  1. Develop and implement a sustainable plan to support various unit presentations, including orientation and new student programs, Parent and Family Weekend, school/college events, and other presentations as requested
  2. Offer training in communications to professional staff and student staff
  3. Hire, train, and supervise students presenting on behalf of the department

10% Administrative Duties

  1. Research the feasibility of developing a unit call center to respond to and address concerns in a timely fashion.  Facilitate the creation of sustainable documentation to train and support staff hired for this purpose.
  2. Act as liaison to University Development; facilitate donor tours and proposals as requested
  3. Manage stewardship and distribution of M Housing scholarship funds. Work with Student Life Business & Finance to evaluate fund balances, and execute awards
  4. Hire, train, and supervise student teams working on M Housing social media platforms
  5. Other duties and special projects as assigned.
     

Required Qualifications*

  • Bachelor's degree
  • 3 or more years of professional experience in public affairs, communications, or marketing role
  • Proficient editing, proofreading, writing, and communication skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Strategic thinking and planning skills
  • The ability to work collaboratively with students, families, faculty and staff at all levels in a complex and diverse environment.
  • Outstanding communications skills in both oral and written formats; proven ability to write for multiple voices and to highly varied audiences.
  • Experience supervising or leading teams

Desired Qualifications*

  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively in an environment characterized by change and multiple stakeholders
  • Extensive customer service training and experience
  • Prior professional experience in a similar communications or public relations role

Additional Information

Position Criteria:

  • Demonstrated personal and professional commitment to diversity and a solid understanding of and appreciation for cultural, ethnic, and individual differences.
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to problem solve and be adaptable in a fast-paced environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and navigate change effectively.

Working conditions

  • Occasional evenings and weekends during peak business operations, such as Fall Move-in at the end of August. Weekend work required over summer to support orientation sessions. Late night work may be necessary to handle emerging crisis situations (e.g, major incident within M Housing facilities)

Physical requirements

  • Position requires working with a computer for the majority of the day, with frequent phone calls. Routinely moves items weighing under 20 pounds.

Direct reports

  • Student staff

Selected candidates whose start date is after 4/1/2024 or before 8/31/2024 will not be eligible for the university FY 24-25 salary/merit plan unless otherwise notified.

This role may have reporting obligations under Title IX and Clery.

Authorization to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment and applicants for this position will not be sponsored for work visas.  

Salary may vary depending on qualifications, experience, and education of the selected candidate.

#studentlife

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.